System and methods for facilitating electronic commerce by securely providing certificate-related and other services, including certificate validation and warranty services. The system services include a certificate status check service and a warranty service. The certificate status check service allows a relying customer to validate a subscribing customer's digital certificate. The warranty service allows the relying customer to receive a collateral-backed warranty that the subscribing customer's digital certificate is valid, and also confirms the ability of the subscribing customer to pay. All participants and a root entity are provided with a transaction coordinator for combining services and operations into a single transaction having the qualities of atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability. The transaction coordinator provides a single consistent interface for certificate-status messages and requests, as well as messages and requests relating to other services.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An apparatus for facilitating computerized transactions between at least a first entity and a second entity, the apparatus comprising: a first server, said server comprising a first transaction coordinator associated with said first entity; a second server, said server comprising a second transaction coordinator associated with said second entity and communicatively coupled to said first transaction coordinator via a communications network; said first transaction coordinator comprising an interface module that communicates with said second transaction coordinator, said interface module comprising a transaction coordinator request manager component and a transport services component; said first transaction coordinator further comprising, coupled to the interface module, a set of service modules comprising a digital certificate status check module that validates digital certificates of said entities, a warranty service module that guarantees an identity of an entity that signs an electronic communication relating to a transaction, and a payment guarantee module that provides a first entity with confirmation of a second entity's ability to fulfill a financial obligation; and a set of core components comprising a logging component that provides non-repudiation and security auditing services, a billing component that creates and stores a transaction billing history for responses and requests received by the transaction coordinator, and a digital signature component that uses cryptographic processing to verify digital signatures.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising, coupled to the interface module, a transaction monitor that ensures that computerized transactions coordinated by the transaction coordinator exhibit atomicity; wherein: all actions required to complete a transaction succeed or all said actions fail; and each transaction is an indivisible unit of work.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: the transaction coordinator is a part of a public key infrastructure, and the transaction coordinator further comprises, coupled to the interface module, a transaction monitor that ensures that computerized transactions coordinated by the transaction coordinator exhibit consistency; wherein: after a transaction is executed, either the public key infrastructure is left in a correct stable state, or else the public key infrastructure returns to a state preceding initiation of the transaction.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising, coupled to the interface module, a transaction monitor that ensures that computerized transactions coordinated by the transaction coordinator exhibit isolation; wherein: each transaction is unaffected by other transactions executing concurrently.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising, coupled to the interface module, a transaction monitor that ensures that computerized transactions coordinated by the transaction coordinator exhibit durability; wherein: effects of each transaction are permanent after the transaction is performed.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising, coupled to the interface module, a component transaction monitor from the group of monitors consisting of Orbix OTM and BEA Weblogic.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
November 22, 2006
August 26, 2014
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